Circle Enables AI Agents to Autonomously Pay Using USDC

Circle Internet Financial has introduced a new integration for AI agents to autonomously pay for online services using USD Coin (USDC). Announced on Sept. 12, this innovation combines Circle's wallet infrastructure with a payment protocol built on Coinbase’s x402, an open standard reactivating the HTTP 402 "Payment Required" status code.

This technology allows web services to request on-chain payments before data requests are fulfilled, enhancing API monetization options.
The integration enables AI agents to complete transactions without human intervention, facilitating seamless access to paywalled APIs.
It introduces new pay-per-use business models, allowing microtransactions instead of traditional subscriptions for API calls.
Circle's Developer-Controlled Wallets manage funds via API and secure transactions with multi-party computation (MPC) technology, protecting private keys.

In a demonstration, an AI agent created a wallet, funded it using a testnet faucet, and paid for a risk profile report from a third-party service, showcasing the system's capabilities. This development marks progress toward a machine-to-machine economy, enabling software to participate in economic transactions and promoting USDC adoption.